Paul: Dear Readers, did you know that Games News is the exact opposite of the Battle of Hastings? It’s true. Rather than fearing the invading Norman (news) hordes, we beckon them onto our beaches, wave them toward us and are delighted when they fire new games right into our eyes.
How else can we find out about such fine titles as A Handful of Stars?
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A mere 700 days later and IT’S HERE! Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 is the sequel to our game of 2015, Pandemic Legacy, and it’s even more ambitious than the first game. Not only is this box heavier and more expensive, it tells a far more complicated story.
But what do we think? Has the lightning of genius smote this particular property once again? Or does Season 2 feel like a difficult second album?
If we were you, we’d take a deep breath, click play and find out.
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The world almost ended 71 years ago…
The plague came out of nowhere and ravaged the world. Most died within a week. Nothing could stop it. The world did its best. It wasn’t good enough.
For three generations, we, the last fragments of humanity have lived on the seas, on floating stations called “havens.” Far from the plague, we are able to provide supplies to the mainland to keep them (and us) from succumbing completely.
We’ve managed to keep a network of the largest known cities in the world alive. Things have been tough the past few years. Cities far away from the havens have fallen off our grid…
Tomorrow, a small group of us head out into what’s left of the world. We don’t know what we’ll find.
Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 is an epic cooperative game for 2 to 4 players. Unlike most other games, this one is working against you. What’s more, some of the actions you take in Pandemic Legacy will carry over to future games. No two worlds will ever be alike!
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Quinns: Matt, are you ready to review the Rise of the Empire expansion for Star Wars™: Rebellion? To bring everyone up to speed, Rebellion is a grand 2-4 player game set in the Star Wars universe, which I reviewed and said it was fun, but I couldn’t quite recommend it.
What does the expansion add? Well, let me just quote the press materials: “Rise of the Empire isn’t just inspired by Rogue One; it follows the movie’s example, adding new depth and story to the Rebellion game experience just as seamlessly as Rogue One provided new insight into the Galactic Civil War presented in the original Star Wars trilogy.”
Matt: I just did a big vomit out of a window. In Real-World Terms™ it’s an expansion that adds quite a bunch of stuff: new leader characters, new cards, a whole new combat system, more unit types and plastic figures, and a brand new planet: EWOK-HOTH, HOME OF THE CHILLYBEARS.
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Paul: This week’s Games News speeds toward us with all the speed and power of a hovercraft. You know why a hovercraft is the most powerful of vehicles? Because it can cross both land AND water. Like a frog. But much bigger. A giant frog. Once again HUMANITY TRUMPS NATURE.
Quinns: OK, first off, a hovercraft is just a poor man’s ekranoplan. But speaking of plans, can we talk a bit about Vital Lacerda’s Escape Plan, which has been confirmed as a 2018 release?
Paul: Ooh, ok! Heist games have been doing rather well at Shut Up & Sit Down this year (we’ve all become big fans of Burgle Bros and Blades in the Dark), so it’s easy to see why you’d be so excited about Lacerda’s latest, which is all about a team of bank robbers trying to get out of town. What’s the best way to get out of town? Put the police on someone else’s tail.
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Our 66th ever podcast has been removed, hot & crispy, from the aging oven of our minds! In this instalment Matt, Paul and Quinns try and unpick all of the games they played at SHUX 2017. That means chat about Shifty Eyed Spies, Bargain Quest, Hanamikoji, Edge of Darkness, Space Base, When I Dream and Quinns getting a bit aggressive about Meeple Circus (again). We also preview the upcoming expansions for Inis and Lords of Vegas, which we had literally no idea were going to be playable at our own event. Finally, we can’t resist closing the podcast with a tease of the gigantic reviews we’re all working on right now. Quinns is playing Pandemic Legacy: Season 2, Matt’s enjoying Gloomhaven, and Paul’s about to crack open his copy of Charterstone. It’s going to be a fun end to the year, everybody!
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Paul: Matt! Welcome to the Games News Office! I can’t believe it’s your first time here! Matt: Paul, this is just a bin with a laptop and- Paul: Uh, what’s that? You’re also excited about the Pandemic Legacy Season 2 trailer? And it’s official release date being so near?
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This week’s video is a playthrough of the outrageously silly and frustrating Meeple Circus -a game so hot and squeaky-fresh that it isn’t actually available yet. Sorry. (If you want to read more, Paul recently tried and enjoyed it at SHUX). But if you’ll just put that goat and plank down for a moment – look at who we’ve got with us in this flipping video?
Assembling an incredible sort of UK board game supergroup/cabal, this video features guest appearances from Jon Purkis (aka Actualol) as well as Efka and Elaine! (No Pun Included). For the inititated, we’d love to point you towards Jon’s song about Pandemic Legacy, and NoPunIncluded’s review of Great Western Trail – if only for the shocking revelation that cows are no longer required for fresh milk.
But do go and poke around! Both channels do great stuff, and it’s worth noting that just last month Actualol popped onto Patreon. Finally, special apologies to Efka – Matt got a bit too involved in the game and literally wasn’t a proficient cameraman. Everyone else: enjoy!
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You only have one goal: to entertain! To dazzle the audience! The competition is tough, so bring your best acts! Acrobats, horses and many accessories are at your disposal. After a good rehearsal and with your remarkable dexterity, you’ll give them all the show of a lifetime!
Meeple Circus is a balancing dexterity game with little wooden clowns and animals, in addition to barrels, and planks of wood!
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Paul: The aliens are coming. Aggressively advancing, ever encroaching, nothing seems to stop their dreadful descent. The sunlight shines off their silver spacecraft as they pierce the heavens and prepare to bring down so much death and destruction onto the city below.
You and your friends are all that stand in their way. Together, you will use a small flight of fighters and the most precise cardboard-flipping skills the galaxy has ever seen to win the hour. You will flip them round the moons. You will flip them in low orbit. You will flip them in the atmosphere. You will never surrender.
Or you’ll flick a state-of-the-art starfighter straight across the room and lose it behind the sofa. Who’s to say?
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